A Guide to Developing Your ICO Marketing Strategy

ICOs are quickly gaining popularity with many companies leveraging the platform to raise capital. Whether that be a new startup or a fresh round of funding, an ICO is perceived as a viable alternative to traditional cash. That being said, developing a core marketing strategy around an ICO is critical.

An ICO feeds off the initial push that you provide it during the early moments. Blockchain application development services companies thrive off a successful launch of a new app or a scaled solution. When there is significant traction around the ICO, that’s when the company can leverage scale and drive new users. While create buzz is key, communicating with clarity is important as well. When a new ICO is launched, there is always some ambiguity about the extent and scope.

That’s where a coherent marketing strategy comes in and provides clarity on upcoming ICOs. A top blockchain development company, like Signity Solutions, can help formulate that strategy for you.

ICOs have been launched in multiple industries across the world. Some of the more popular ICOs earlier in the year have been WePower, Solve. Care and TrueGame. All three of them have been across various domains from green energy to healthcare. Each industry has seen some form of startup emerging leveraging the ICO platform. With the help of effective marketing, they can become widely successful as well.

Brand building: Whitepaper, founder, thought-leadership

Any top blockchain consulting services company will tell you that building a brand is key. The brand should focus on what your ICO is about and why you’re raising funds. It should also focus on what your core product or offering is, and how it is going to affect the lives of its customers. A brand goes beyond that as well. It focuses on the mission and vision of the company, and it communicates the value of the company before it has been introduced. Building a brand is one of the most important aspects of developing your ICO.

Whitepaper

Having a coherent whitepaper helps significantly here. It is the cornerstone of a successful ICO and one of the first documents that investors want to review. The whitepaper should communicate your brand and what it stands for. It should also talk about the technology that you’re leveraging and why you’re using the ICO route in the first place. Investors want to see transparency in approach but a strong strategy for what you’re planning on doing with the funds raised.

Whitepapers should also list out capital requirements, which are a significant task to estimate. However, investors want to see everything on paper before committing, and a white paper is a good first step.

Founder and thought-leadership

Additionally, the founding team must have the technical know-how to ask for investments in the first place. An ICO relies significantly on who the founder is and who is backing them. The risk-reward dynamic is stronger in the case of an ICO, and the founder must be a source of reliance and security in the domain. Founders should be knowledgeable, and the company should appear to be a thought-leader in some form of the domain.

Community Outreach: Social media, forums, apps

The best blockchain development company is learning more about the ICO space at Telegram and Kik rather than on Google or Facebook. The dynamics of community management and interaction has changed significantly. The cryptocurrency space thrives on communication and founders must reach out to community members where they interact. This could be in forums, network events or messaging apps.

Social media

Social media is an important tool as well, but key is the target messaging. You will have to research where your investors interact and what messaging they prefer using. Communication is key in the crypto-space and founders need to use the right style and tone to craft their messages. A blockchain developer will interact differently from a crypto-investor even though they may appear from the same industry.

Having a robust online presence is key, and PR is helpful here as well. Companies must focus on generating as much volume as possible so that they can reach out to a wider audience. Websites, online platforms, and traditional media outlets are important to connect with when launching an ICO. Working with reputable outlets should be an essential component of your ICO strategy. Additionally, it helps to establish a working relationship with them early on to get a better flow of information.

There are multiple reputable crypto rating agencies in the marketplace, many of which charge a fee to rate your ICO. They will also provide you a specific rating based on the information shared with them. That information is often picked up across communities and media outlets, to help increase your reach further. Additionally, these agencies will provide an insight into your ICO that will help create buzz around the brand. If you have the basics right – good technology, right people, right messaging – then you will have a good rating overall.

It also helps to get other veterans in the crypto space involved in your ICO. They can help provide the trust factor in the community and vouch for your ICO. It may be a soft nod or a sponsor review. It always helps to gain the trust of the community through verification processes and reviews. There is also the element of early testing and user analysis. An ICO can be reviewed in a closed beta to get feedback. That feedback can help enhance the ICO better and create an engaged audience of investors early on.

Conclusion:

Finally, it’s important to have a clear messaging strategy when developing an ICO. The communication should be consistent and scalable across all mediums. The founder, the team and the investors should be on the same page when it comes to your ICO and your company as a whole. Some of the biggest ICOS of 2018 have reached significant scale using marketing best practices like this.